2. Godzilla (1954)

This list could have been dedicated entirely to giant Japanese monster movies, but for the sake of variety, we may as well keep it to the original (and still the best) Godzilla. While the legion of sequels and knockoffs that followed turned the series into accidental rubber-suit comedies, the original Godzilla is actually a fairly disturbing horror movie and clever allegory for the U.S. nuclear attack on Japan. Sure, those chills and smarts came along with a hefty dose of bad dubbing and cheesy effects, but that’s just part of the big lizard’s charm. King Kong was spared a spot on this list because that poor monkey didn’t know what he was doing, unlike this fire-breathing jerk. Godzilla knew all too well, and he was so good at it that he kept destroying Tokyo for decades.